Welcome! Quite a few amendments Atlasians are voting on these days, so let's see how they've been faring. First up - the Regional Senators Clarification Amendment, meant to ensure exactly one regional senator for each region. The vote finished up a few days ago. The amendment passed 4 of 5 regions - but just barely, as the Pacific tied, and the Midwest passed it with a margin of just one vote.

The regional breakdown is sort of interesting. It would have been funny if the Fair Amendment Procedure Amendment had been passed properly & then first used to pass an amendment favored by the more right-wing regions.

The regional breakdown is sort of interesting. It would have been funny if the Fair Amendment Procedure Amendment had been passed properly & then first used to pass an amendment favored by the more right-wing regions.

Well, my Amendment was never intended to be a fix for the left. Of course if the Clarification Amendment failed in PA and MW despite receiving 2/3rds of the votes, it would further prove my point.

The regional breakdown is sort of interesting. It would have been funny if the Fair Amendment Procedure Amendment had been passed properly & then first used to pass an amendment favored by the more right-wing regions.

Well, my Amendment was never intended to be a fix for the left. Of course if the Clarification Amendment failed in PA and MW despite receiving 2/3rds of the votes, it would further prove my point.

Perhaps so, but reducing the difficulty of passing amendments has always been something that was more popular on the left than on the right, possibly due to the number of left-wing amendments that have failed narrowly over the years. That's why I said it would be funny if an amendment passed because of it while failing in the two regions controlled by the left.

The regional breakdown is sort of interesting. It would have been funny if the Fair Amendment Procedure Amendment had been passed properly & then first used to pass an amendment favored by the more right-wing regions.

Well, my Amendment was never intended to be a fix for the left. Of course if the Clarification Amendment failed in PA and MW despite receiving 2/3rds of the votes, it would further prove my point.

Perhaps so, but reducing the difficulty of passing amendments has always been something that was more popular on the left than on the right, possibly due to the number of left-wing amendments that have failed narrowly over the years. That's why I said it would be funny if an amendment passed because of it while failing in the two regions controlled by the left.

The regional breakdown is sort of interesting. It would have been funny if the Fair Amendment Procedure Amendment had been passed properly & then first used to pass an amendment favored by the more right-wing regions.

Well, my Amendment was never intended to be a fix for the left. Of course if the Clarification Amendment failed in PA and MW despite receiving 2/3rds of the votes, it would further prove my point.

Perhaps so, but reducing the difficulty of passing amendments has always been something that was more popular on the left than on the right, possibly due to the number of left-wing amendments that have failed narrowly over the years. That's why I said it would be funny if an amendment passed because of it while failing in the two regions controlled by the left.

It would still be a victory for democracy, though.

My sense has been the left/right split over this issue is really a split between national versus regional democracy.

The Senate had a long and contentious debate on this amendment, with lots of different proposals being discussed. In the end the "50:14" formula, which involved only a modest reduction in requirements, passed the Senate and then went on to pass the regions. Only in the Northeast was there less than a 2/3 vote in favor.

This one looks to be pretty close in terms of total votes, and will only pass in 3 of 5 regions barring a last minute wave of support. Maybe people aren't as upset about the low turnout during the Easter weekend election as it seemed.

The No More Holiday Elections Amendment won in the Pacific, Mideast, and Midwest, but lost in the Northeast and IDS. Though there was no clear regional or ideological issue, the vote was highly polarized by region.